NUMBER 16 SUMMER 2004 / 2005

EDITORIAL: argues that far from being good
economic managers, the Howard government has jerry-built the economy on
a mountain of foreign debt. This will lead to rising interest rates and
the opportunity for Labor to win the next election if it can couch its
traditional egalitarian concerns in a credible alternative economic
policy.

DECOY SPOONviews morning
television and asks why, in a time of international turmoil, the news
segments have degenerated into glorified variety shows, treating
viewers with contempt and reinforcing our insular modern detachment.

DENIS KENNY discusses
the rise of religion and the decline of democracy. He suggests that
religion has become an increasingly powerful force, not just in the
Muslim and Hindu world, but also in the Christian world allegedly
dominated by the techno-scientific rationality of the European
Enlightenment.

DOUG COCKS asks what we can learn from John
Burton, former head of Foreign affairs in the Chifley government and,
for the last 50 years, a leading world scholar in the area of conflict
avoidance and conflict resolution.

BRIAN ELLISwants to
develop the Aristototelian conception of eudemonia (human flourishing)
to fill the ideological gap that left the welfare state so defenceless
when it came under attack by neoliberal ideologues in the 1980s. He
spells out a new social contract which defines the system of
government, institutions, procedures, customs and values in all
societies.

PAT RANALD shows that AUSFTA fails to deliver any
significant benefits for Australia’s agriculture, manufacturing and
service industries. AUSFTA undermines Australian laws, regulations and
the capacity to provide and regulate essential services, and it imposes
US laws and regulations insofar as they advantage American trade and
commerce.

BRYN DAVIES focuses on AUSFTA’s implications for
Australian intellectual property and communications industries. He
shows AUSFTA’s intellectual property ‘harmonisation’ provisions are
identical to proposals the US failed to get approved within the
framework of the World Intellectual Property Organisation because of
their bias towards US interests.

PAUL MEES argues that Melbourne and Sydney rail
networks are operating well below capacity. Melbourne’s city loop built
in 1969 ensures the city had enough capacity to absorb any conceivable
increase in demand and Sydney’s urban rail system carries fewer
passengers than half a century ago, despite additions to rolling stock
and additions to the network.

JULIE WELLS says it is widely understood that
spending on education is a sound social investment and yet government
spending on education is static or falling because of an ideological
commitment to competition and private provision.

CHARLES
LIVINGSTONE examines
the Howard government’s enthusiasm for Medicare and points out that
while it was prepared to spend more money on health than the
opposition, the big issues – whether the resources are going to improve
the health care of the needy or the problem of cost shifting between
the commonwealth and states – still need to be addressed.

IAN MANNING argues the so-called Australian
miracle economy is built on a mountain of household debt financed by
foreign borrowings by the banks against the security of a property
bubble. The question is whether the fallout can be managed to minimise
interest rate rises and unemployment or whether there will be a repeat
of the 1990 or even 1890 recessions.

JOHN
BRADFORD contends
that the political survival of Howard, Bush and probably Blair is a
sign of democratic un-health because the lies told to justify the
illegal invasion of Iraq confirm the ‘larger truth’ – that sectional
and selfish interests come first. Voters do not want information that
makes them confront the gulf between the facts and their moral values.

AURIOL
WEIGOLDdiscusses
the Community Development Employment Program and argues that it can be
judged a success if it is seen as a welfare program rather than an
employment program.

From his
perspective as research officer for the ACTU, GRANT BELCHAMBER
looks at the breakdown in relations between the industrial and
parliamentary wings of the ALP and discusses the implications for
social democracy.

NOTE
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